The Single Man's Guide to TV Dinners
March 31, 2005 8:12 AM Subscribe
The Single Man's Guide to TV Dinners
Teetering on the fine line between parody and sincerity, Ray guides us through the perilous world of TV dinners.
The box cover boasts "Extra Helpings of Beef Enchilada..". As I mentioned earlier, the dinner only contains one beef enchilada. What is an "Extra Helping"?
The cheese-to-meat-to-vegetable ratio is appropriate. After eating a few slices, you won't be left with a strange aftertaste.
Teetering on the fine line between parody and sincerity, Ray guides us through the perilous world of TV dinners.
The box cover boasts "Extra Helpings of Beef Enchilada..". As I mentioned earlier, the dinner only contains one beef enchilada. What is an "Extra Helping"?
The cheese-to-meat-to-vegetable ratio is appropriate. After eating a few slices, you won't be left with a strange aftertaste.
This is very sad. It is so easy to cook a good tasting meal frmo scratch.
posted by davebarnes at 8:39 AM on March 31, 2005
posted by davebarnes at 8:39 AM on March 31, 2005
No 'meat and potatoes' meal would be complete without a source of colorful roughage.
These are the words by which I live my life.
posted by veedubya at 8:40 AM on March 31, 2005
These are the words by which I live my life.
posted by veedubya at 8:40 AM on March 31, 2005
This is very sad. It is so easy to cook a good tasting meal frmo scratch.
Not as easy as it is to simply nuke something. My diet is pretty much deli/fast food lunch, frozen dinners, coffee, candy and beer.
No muss no fuss.
posted by jonmc at 8:42 AM on March 31, 2005
Not as easy as it is to simply nuke something. My diet is pretty much deli/fast food lunch, frozen dinners, coffee, candy and beer.
No muss no fuss.
posted by jonmc at 8:42 AM on March 31, 2005
The creaminess is a RICH creaminess
At least that was funny.
I make a point to work as little as possible and to have as much free time as possible, so with my money-to-time ratio, it makes more sense to cook from scratch than to buy prepared food. I haven't eaten a frozen or otherwise pre-prepared meal outside of a restaraunt in years, but some of the things on this page are looking good. It's scaring me.
posted by cilantro at 8:46 AM on March 31, 2005
At least that was funny.
I make a point to work as little as possible and to have as much free time as possible, so with my money-to-time ratio, it makes more sense to cook from scratch than to buy prepared food. I haven't eaten a frozen or otherwise pre-prepared meal outside of a restaraunt in years, but some of the things on this page are looking good. It's scaring me.
posted by cilantro at 8:46 AM on March 31, 2005
I had no idea anyone still referred to these things as TV dinners.
posted by iconomy at 8:55 AM on March 31, 2005
posted by iconomy at 8:55 AM on March 31, 2005
My better half says that since I often eat mine at the computer, they should be called "PC Dinners."
Somebody call Swanson.
posted by jonmc at 9:00 AM on March 31, 2005
Somebody call Swanson.
posted by jonmc at 9:00 AM on March 31, 2005
To my dismay I was greeted with a taste devoid of all that is characteristic of a true sausage. The only saving grace I can find about these soy compounds is the modicum and I repeat, modicum, of spice present.
Heh.
posted by fatllama at 9:00 AM on March 31, 2005
Heh.
posted by fatllama at 9:00 AM on March 31, 2005
This is very sad. It is so easy to cook a good tasting meal from scratch
Indeed. I usually cook up a pot of something on Sunday to act as a base for the week. Sometimes it's a thick tomato sauce, sometimes a basic chilli mix. Then, each day during the week, I'll cook some fresh pasta, steam some veg or something and nuke a portion of Sunday's stuff. That way, I can still prepare a quick meal, but I get the fresh, more nutritious stuff as well. And, as I've cooked it from fresh ingredients, I can be more sure that it isn't full of chemicals than anything bought pre-packaged.
posted by TheDonF at 9:05 AM on March 31, 2005 [1 favorite]
Indeed. I usually cook up a pot of something on Sunday to act as a base for the week. Sometimes it's a thick tomato sauce, sometimes a basic chilli mix. Then, each day during the week, I'll cook some fresh pasta, steam some veg or something and nuke a portion of Sunday's stuff. That way, I can still prepare a quick meal, but I get the fresh, more nutritious stuff as well. And, as I've cooked it from fresh ingredients, I can be more sure that it isn't full of chemicals than anything bought pre-packaged.
posted by TheDonF at 9:05 AM on March 31, 2005 [1 favorite]
Bah! Who wants food reviews from someone who never saw a frozen dinner he didn't like.
I, on the other hand, am a food afficianodo -- a patron of the finest delicacies and chefs, and might be called a foodie. What, you may ask, am I doing eating frozen dinners? Breakfast! I dislike most breakfast food, am allergic to eggs, have a big appettite, and no time to cook in the morning. Frozen dinners have been an excellent solution.
Here are some recommendations that should apply to dinner, too, after testing many different brands and dishes and eating them several times/week for years:
Stouffer's is the only brand I've found that consistently cooks thoroughly on the first try if you follow their instructions. Put your fork in others and you can find frozen or cold spots.
Avoid heavy sauces and spices. A saying regarding restaurants applies here: Don't challenge the chef. Don't order the most complicated dish on an otherwise simple menu. Keep it simple; this is Stouffer's and not the best restaurant in town.
I find the "Asian" dishes are the best: Simple, light, yet flavorful sauces make everything go down well.
Bon Appetit!
posted by guanxi at 9:49 AM on March 31, 2005
I, on the other hand, am a food afficianodo -- a patron of the finest delicacies and chefs, and might be called a foodie. What, you may ask, am I doing eating frozen dinners? Breakfast! I dislike most breakfast food, am allergic to eggs, have a big appettite, and no time to cook in the morning. Frozen dinners have been an excellent solution.
Here are some recommendations that should apply to dinner, too, after testing many different brands and dishes and eating them several times/week for years:
Stouffer's is the only brand I've found that consistently cooks thoroughly on the first try if you follow their instructions. Put your fork in others and you can find frozen or cold spots.
Avoid heavy sauces and spices. A saying regarding restaurants applies here: Don't challenge the chef. Don't order the most complicated dish on an otherwise simple menu. Keep it simple; this is Stouffer's and not the best restaurant in town.
I find the "Asian" dishes are the best: Simple, light, yet flavorful sauces make everything go down well.
Bon Appetit!
posted by guanxi at 9:49 AM on March 31, 2005
I feel I should self-link my review of Banquet Hearty One Boneless Pork Rib with Mashed Potatoes and Corn.
Pardon the broken, ridiculous-looking page layout. I'm having some template trouble with WordPress.
posted by waldo at 10:17 AM on March 31, 2005
Pardon the broken, ridiculous-looking page layout. I'm having some template trouble with WordPress.
posted by waldo at 10:17 AM on March 31, 2005
This is very sad. It is so easy to cook a good tasting meal frmo scratch.
Absolutely. Articles like this just reinforce the "God, aren't single males pathetic and useless?" stereotype. It really isn't difficult to knock up a good meal with real food in, no seriously, not that much more time than it takes to unbox and nuke some overpriced tumour-on-a-plate nightmare. And yes, you can make enough to freeze some for other days. It's easy.
posted by Decani at 10:24 AM on March 31, 2005
Absolutely. Articles like this just reinforce the "God, aren't single males pathetic and useless?" stereotype. It really isn't difficult to knock up a good meal with real food in, no seriously, not that much more time than it takes to unbox and nuke some overpriced tumour-on-a-plate nightmare. And yes, you can make enough to freeze some for other days. It's easy.
posted by Decani at 10:24 AM on March 31, 2005
Decani, what are you, gay or something? ;)
Seriously, my love of TV dinners has nothing to do with perpetuating some single-male stereotype. I'm not single, my better half likes 'em too. We just eat 'em cause we're lazy and hate washing dishes.
posted by jonmc at 10:37 AM on March 31, 2005
Seriously, my love of TV dinners has nothing to do with perpetuating some single-male stereotype. I'm not single, my better half likes 'em too. We just eat 'em cause we're lazy and hate washing dishes.
posted by jonmc at 10:37 AM on March 31, 2005
Articles like this just reinforce the "God, aren't single males pathetic and useless?" stereotype
You're forgetting that Real Men Don't Cook⢠(unless there's charcoal involved). Cooking is for the ladies, and maybe that guy with the big eyebrows and the BAM! on the Food channel.
I kid. I cook for myself, quite a lot. Every day, in fact. Sometimes I cook just because I enjoy it. For awhile, though, I was eating those Lean Cuisine-style frozen meals for lunch every day because they were reasonably cheap ($2 a pop; still not *cheap*) and portion-controlled (although, really, 210 Kcal is not enough for even a small adult male's lunch). Some of them are pretty tasty, as a matter of fact. Not real food by any stretch of the imagination, but tasty enough.
posted by uncleozzy at 10:44 AM on March 31, 2005
You're forgetting that Real Men Don't Cook⢠(unless there's charcoal involved). Cooking is for the ladies, and maybe that guy with the big eyebrows and the BAM! on the Food channel.
I kid. I cook for myself, quite a lot. Every day, in fact. Sometimes I cook just because I enjoy it. For awhile, though, I was eating those Lean Cuisine-style frozen meals for lunch every day because they were reasonably cheap ($2 a pop; still not *cheap*) and portion-controlled (although, really, 210 Kcal is not enough for even a small adult male's lunch). Some of them are pretty tasty, as a matter of fact. Not real food by any stretch of the imagination, but tasty enough.
posted by uncleozzy at 10:44 AM on March 31, 2005
Let's be realistic: Cooking might be easy, but it's not as fast as,
1) Open box
2) Insert tray in microwave
3) Nuke 3-5 min.
posted by guanxi at 11:26 AM on March 31, 2005
1) Open box
2) Insert tray in microwave
3) Nuke 3-5 min.
posted by guanxi at 11:26 AM on March 31, 2005
> My diet is pretty much deli/fast food lunch, frozen dinners, coffee,
> candy and beer.
The only thing this keeps healthy is corporate america I guess. Thank you for doing your part so that I don't have to.
posted by NewBornHippy at 11:31 AM on March 31, 2005
> candy and beer.
The only thing this keeps healthy is corporate america I guess. Thank you for doing your part so that I don't have to.
posted by NewBornHippy at 11:31 AM on March 31, 2005
Assuming everyone likes to cook or is good at it is a bit naive.
posted by smackfu at 11:37 AM on March 31, 2005
posted by smackfu at 11:37 AM on March 31, 2005
Thank you for doing your part so that I don't have to.
Your halo is in the mail.
posted by jonmc at 11:41 AM on March 31, 2005
Your halo is in the mail.
posted by jonmc at 11:41 AM on March 31, 2005
Assuming everyone likes to cook or is good at it is a bit naive.
This is an assumption I make too often. Although, really, I think everyone should like to cook, but I'm not the boss of them.
What really gets me, though, are the people who look at food as nothing but fuel. I shed a single tear, velvet Elvis-style, every time I hear about them.
posted by uncleozzy at 11:45 AM on March 31, 2005
This is an assumption I make too often. Although, really, I think everyone should like to cook, but I'm not the boss of them.
What really gets me, though, are the people who look at food as nothing but fuel. I shed a single tear, velvet Elvis-style, every time I hear about them.
posted by uncleozzy at 11:45 AM on March 31, 2005
Let's be realistic: Cooking might be easy, but it's not as fast as,
1) Open box
2) Insert tray in microwave
3) Nuke 3-5 min.
Sure, it's not that fast, but it takes very little effort to whip up a tasty dish in 10-15 minutes, and it won't be full of preservatives and sodium.
posted by gyc at 12:04 PM on March 31, 2005
1) Open box
2) Insert tray in microwave
3) Nuke 3-5 min.
Sure, it's not that fast, but it takes very little effort to whip up a tasty dish in 10-15 minutes, and it won't be full of preservatives and sodium.
posted by gyc at 12:04 PM on March 31, 2005
Something in the sound of the phrase "Extra Helpings of Beef Enchilada" makes me slightly queasy. It strikes the ear in an unpleasant way, much like KFC's highly unappealing "kitchen fresh chicken" tagline.
posted by gigawhat? at 12:14 PM on March 31, 2005
posted by gigawhat? at 12:14 PM on March 31, 2005
No one's mentioning clean up time in cooking to TV dinners. With the latter, you can just drop the container in the trash! If you used a plastic fork, you don't even have to clean that! Taking this into account, that 3-5 minute versus 10-15 minute ratio now looks more like 3-5 minutes versus 20-30 minutes! How can real food possibly beat that?
posted by kimota at 12:42 PM on March 31, 2005
posted by kimota at 12:42 PM on March 31, 2005
> We just eat 'em cause we're lazy and hate washing dishes.
Or: I like to fuck my body up and generate waste.
posted by NewBornHippy at 12:46 PM on March 31, 2005
Or: I like to fuck my body up and generate waste.
posted by NewBornHippy at 12:46 PM on March 31, 2005
The obvious solution is to just not wash dishes and buy new ones when you run out of clean ones. Not that I've done that or anything...
posted by gyc at 1:44 PM on March 31, 2005
posted by gyc at 1:44 PM on March 31, 2005
bardic, your link was the funniest thing I have seen all day... had to leave the computer lab in tears.
cheers.
posted by zach4000 at 3:01 PM on March 31, 2005
cheers.
posted by zach4000 at 3:01 PM on March 31, 2005
Or: I like to fuck my body up and generate waste.
Yeah, and...? Different strokes, hippy. Don't tread on me!
posted by tristeza at 3:26 PM on March 31, 2005
Yeah, and...? Different strokes, hippy. Don't tread on me!
posted by tristeza at 3:26 PM on March 31, 2005
Actually, yes, I do like to fuck my body up. I want to go to my grave properly marinated.
*slugs margarita, digests burrito, lights smoke*
your kelp looked tasty.
posted by jonmc at 5:02 PM on March 31, 2005
*slugs margarita, digests burrito, lights smoke*
your kelp looked tasty.
posted by jonmc at 5:02 PM on March 31, 2005
Dude, the guy like Kid Cuisine. I tried those once as a kid and that stuff makes cardboard look good.
posted by dagnyscott at 8:03 PM on March 31, 2005
posted by dagnyscott at 8:03 PM on March 31, 2005
My plan is to eat as many preservative-packed foods as possible. I just might live forever.
posted by 235w103 at 10:41 PM on March 31, 2005
posted by 235w103 at 10:41 PM on March 31, 2005
tristeza:
> Yeah, and...? Different strokes, hippy. Don't tread on me!
Your irresponsible behavior has consequences all will have to endure, so yeah, you will be treaded on.
jonmc:
> your kelp looked tasty.
The finesse of your stereotypes is impressive. Next I'm waiting for you to comment on my long hair (that I don't wear) and pinch your nose pointing at me (I do bath.)
posted by NewBornHippy at 12:58 PM on April 1, 2005
> Yeah, and...? Different strokes, hippy. Don't tread on me!
Your irresponsible behavior has consequences all will have to endure, so yeah, you will be treaded on.
jonmc:
> your kelp looked tasty.
The finesse of your stereotypes is impressive. Next I'm waiting for you to comment on my long hair (that I don't wear) and pinch your nose pointing at me (I do bath.)
posted by NewBornHippy at 12:58 PM on April 1, 2005
The finesse of your stereotypes is impressive. Next I'm waiting for you to comment on my long hair (that I don't wear) and pinch your nose pointing at me (I do bath.)
The finesse of yours is impressive as well. I used to have hair past my shoulders, and I only bathe when absolutely neccessary. And I've smoked tons of pot in my life and probably own more records from the sixties than you do. And Abbie Hoffman is one of my cultural heroes.
And anyone who reduces personal choices to witty rejoinders like "Or: I like to fuck my body up and generate waste," is in no position to talk about reductivism.
posted by jonmc at 5:35 PM on April 1, 2005
The finesse of yours is impressive as well. I used to have hair past my shoulders, and I only bathe when absolutely neccessary. And I've smoked tons of pot in my life and probably own more records from the sixties than you do. And Abbie Hoffman is one of my cultural heroes.
And anyone who reduces personal choices to witty rejoinders like "Or: I like to fuck my body up and generate waste," is in no position to talk about reductivism.
posted by jonmc at 5:35 PM on April 1, 2005
« Older She's dead, Jim. | Bionics Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by spicynuts at 8:34 AM on March 31, 2005